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HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP

To boost profitability, the company said it would cherry-pick locations for new store openings, with one store scheduled to open in November in Manchester.

French Connection's share price is down 2.52 per cent to 43.38p. The group's investors have been in for a turbulent time, with French Connection's share price falling to 31.25p towards the end of last year.

Stephen Marks, chairman and chief executive of French Connection, said: 'We have definitely seen momentum build in the first half of the new financial year with improvements across all the divisions despite difficult trading conditions.

'With full price sales in Retail up during the early part of the second half, combined with the strong Winter 17 order books in Wholesale and very strong reaction to the Spring 18 collection, I am confident that we will see a good performance during the rest of the year.

'We have been working with the goal of returning the Group to profitability as soon as possible and, while there is still much to do, I believe that we have made significant steps to achieve that in the near future.'

In March, French Connection posted its fifth consecutive annual loss of £5.3million, compared with £3.5million in 2015.

In February, major investor Schroders lost patience with the group and sold its stake, giving Sports Direct's Mike Ashley the chance to pick up an 11 per cent stake.

Another investor, Gatemore Capital Management, has urged the retailer to implement changes and start making money.

Liad Meidar, managing partner at Gatemore, said: 'The board is a mockery of modern corporate governance.'

Investor: Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley snapped up a slice of French Connection this year

French Connection was founded in the 1970s by current chief executive Stephen Marks.

In the early 2000s the brand used the 'fcuk' label across its clothing lines and stores.

Since then, the fashion market has changed considerably, with online rivals like Asos cutting into conventional store-based retailer's market share.

French Connection has struggled to keep up with the likes of Topshop and Zara. At the lower cost end of the market, Primark is also giving all the high street stores a real run for their money.